1、考研英语（阅读）模拟试卷 452 及答案与解析Part ADirections: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. (40 points)0 In his book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell argues that “social epidemics“ are driven in large part by the actions of a tiny minority of special ind
2、ividuals, often called influentials, who are unusually informed, persuasive, or well-connected. The idea is intuitively compelling, but it doesnt explain how ideas actually spread.The supposed importance of influentials derives from a plausible-sounding but largely untested theory called the “two-st
3、ep flow of communication“: Information flows from the media to the influentials and from them to everyone else. Marketers have embraced the two-step flow because it suggests that if they can just find and influence the influentials, those selected people will do most of the work for them. The theory
4、 also seems to explain the sudden and unexpected popularity of certain looks, brands, or neighborhoods. In many such cases, a cursory search for causes finds that some small group of people was wearing, promoting, or developing whatever it is before anyone else paid attention. Anecdotal evidence of
5、this kind fits nicely with the idea that only certain special people can drive trends.In their recent work, however, some researchers have come up with the finding that influentials have far less impact on social epidemics than is generally supposed. In fact, they dont seem to be required of all.The
6、 researchers argument stems from a simple observation about social influence: With the exception of a few celebrities like Oprah Winfreywhose outsize presence is primarily a function of media, not interpersonal, influenceeven the most influential members of a population simply dont interact with tha
7、t many others. Yet it is precisely these noncelebrity influentials who, according to the two-step-flow theory, are supposed to drive social epidemics, by influencing their friends and colleagues directly. For a social epidemic to occur, however, each person so affected must then influence his or her
8、 own acquaintances, who must in turn influence theirs, and so on; and just how many others pay attention to each of these people has little to do with the initial influential. If people in the network just two degrees removed from the initial influential prove resistant, for example the cascade of c
9、hange wont propagate very far or affect many people.Building on the basic truth about interpersonal influence, the researchers studied the dynamics of social influence by conducting thousands of computer simulations of populations, manipulating a number of variables relating to people s ability to i
10、nfluence others and their tendency to be influenced. They found that the principal requirement for what is called “global cascades“the widespread propagation of influence through networksis the presence not of a few influentials but, rather, of a critical mass of easily influenced people.1 By citing
11、 the book The Tipping Point, the author intends to（A）analyze the consequences of social epidemics.（B） discuss influentials function in spreading ideas.（C） exemplify people s intuitive response to social epidemics.（D）describe the essential characteristics of influentials.2 The author suggests that th
12、e “two-step flow theory“（A）serves as a solution to marketing problems.（B） has helped explain certain prevalent trends.（C） has won support from influentials.（D）requires solid evidence for its validity.3 What the researchers have observed recently shows that（A）the power of influence goes with social i
13、nteractions.（B） interpersonal links can be enhanced through the media.（C） influentials have more channels to reach the public.（D）most celebrities enjoy wide media attention.4 The underlined phrase “these people“ in Paragraph 4 refers to the ones who（A）stay outside the network of social influence.（B）
14、 have little contact with the source of influence.（C） are influenced and then influence others.（D）are influenced by the initial influential.5 What is the essential element in the dynamics of social influence?（A）The eagerness to be accepted.（B） The impulse to influence others.（C） The readiness to be
15、influenced.（D）The inclination to rely on others.5 Up until a few decades ago, our visions of the future were largelythough by no means uniformly glowingly positive. Science and technology would cure all the ills of humanity, leading to lives of fulfillment and opportunity for all.Now utopia has grow
16、n unfashionable, as we have gained a deeper appreciation of the range of threats facing us, from asteroid strike to epidemic flu to climate change. You might even be tempted to assume that humanity has little future to look forward to.But such gloominess is misplaced. The fossil record shows that ma
17、ny species have endured for millions of yearsso why shouldn t we? Take a broader look at our species place in the universe, and it becomes clear that we have an excellent chance of surviving for tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of years. Look up Homo sapiens in the “Red List“ of threatened specie
18、s of the International Union for the Conversation of Nature(IUCN)and you will read: “Listed as Least Concern as the species is very widely distributed, adaptable, currently increasing, and there are no major threats resulting in an overall population decline.“So what does our deep future hold? A gro
19、wing number of researchers and organizations are now thinking seriously about that question. For example, the Long Now Foundation has its flagship project a mechanical clock that is designed to still be marking time thousands of years hence.Perhaps willfully, it may be easier to think about such len
20、gthy timescales than about the more immediate future. The potential evolution of today s technology, and its social consequences, is dazzlingly complicated, and its perhaps best left to science fiction writers and futurologists to explore the many possibilities we can envisage. That s one reason why
21、 we have launched Arc, a new publication dedicated to the near future.But take a longer view and there is a surprising amount that we can say with considerable assurance. As so often, the past holds the key to the future: we have now identified enough of the long-term patterns shaping the history of
22、 the planet, and our species, to make evidence-based forecasts about the situations in which our descendants will find themselves.This long perspective makes the pessimistic view of our prospects seem more likely to be a passing fad. To be sure, the future is not all rosy. But we are now knowledgeab
23、le enough to reduce many of the risks that threatened the existence of earlier humans, and to improve the lot of those to come.6 Our vision of the future used to be inspired by（A）our desire for lives of fulfillment.（B） our faith in science and technology.（C） our awareness of potential risks.（D）our b
24、elief in equal opportunity.7 The IUCN s “Red List“ suggest that human beings are（A）a sustained species.（B） the worlds dominant power.（C） a threat to the environment.（D）a misplaced race.8 Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 5?（A）Arc helps limit the scope of futurological studies.（B）
25、 Technology offers solutions to social problem.（C） The interest in science fiction is on the rise.（D）Our immediate future is hard to conceive.9 To ensure the future of mankind, it is crucial to（A）explore our planet s abundant resources.（B） adopt an optimistic view of the world.（C） draw on our experi
26、ence from the past.（D）curb our ambition to reshape history.10 Which of the following would be the best title for the text?（A）Uncertainty about Our Future（B） Evolution of the Human Species（C） The Ever-bright Prospects of Mankind（D）Science, Technology and Humanity10 Two years ago, Rupert Murdochs daug
27、hter, Elisabeth, spoke of the “unsettling dearth of integrity across so many of our institutions“. Integrity had collapsed, she argued, because of a collective acceptance that the only “sorting mechanism“ in society should be profit and the market. But “its us, human beings, we the people who create
28、 the society we want, not profit“.Driving her point home, she continued: “Its increasingly apparent that the absence of purpose, of a moral language within government, media or business could become one of the most dangerous goals for capitalism and freedom.“ This same absence of moral purpose was w
29、ounding companies such as News International, she thought, making it more likely that it would lose its way as it had with widespread illegal telephone hacking.As the hacking trial concludesfinding guilty one ex-editor of the News of the World, Andy Coulson, for conspiring to hack phones, and findin
30、g his predecessor, Rebekah Brooks, innocent of the same charge the wider issue of dearth of integrity still stands. Journalists are known to have hacked the phones of up to 5,500 people. This is hacking on an industrial scale, as was acknowledged by Glenn Mulcaire, the man hired by the News of the W
31、orld in 2001 to be the point person for phone hacking. Others await trial. This long story still unfolds.In many respects, the dearth of moral purpose frames not only the fact of such widespread phone hacking but the terms on which the trial took place. One of the astonishing revelations was how lit
32、tle Rebekah Brooks knew of what went on in her newsroom, how little she thought to ask and the fact that she never inquired how the stories arrived. The core of her successful defence was that she knew nothing.In today s world, it has become normal that well-paid executives should not be accountable
33、 for what happens in the organisations that they run. Perhaps we should not be so surprised. For a generation, the collective doctrine has been that the sorting mechanism of society should be profit. The words that have mattered are efficiency, flexibility, shareholder value, business-friendly, weal
34、th generation, sales, impact and, in newspapers, circulation. Words degraded to the margin have been justice, fairness, tolerance, proportionality and accountability.The purpose of editing the News of the World was not to promote reader understanding, to be fair in what was written or to betray any
35、common humanity. It was to ruin lives in the quest for circulation and impact. Ms Brooks may or may not have had suspicions about how her journalists got their stories, but she asked no questions, gave no instructionnor received traceable, recorded answers.11 According to the first two paragraphs, E
36、lisabeth was upset by（A）the consequences of the current sorting mechanism.（B） companies financial loss due to immoral practices.（C） governmental ineffectiveness on moral issues.（D）the wide misuse of integrity among institutions.12 It can be inferred from Paragraph 3 that（A）Glenn Mulcaire may deny ph
37、one hacking as a crime.（B） more journalists may be found guilty of phone hacking.（C） Andy Coulson should be held innocent of the charge.（D）phone hacking will be accepted on certain occasions.13 The author believes that Rebekah Brooks s defence（A）revealed a cunning personality.（B） centered on trivial
38、 issues.（C） was hardly convincing.（D）was part of a conspiracy.14 The author holds that the current collective doctrine shows（A）generally distorted values.（B） unfair wealth distribution.（C） a marginalized lifestyle.（D）a rigid moral code.15 Which of the following is suggested in the last paragraph?（A）
39、The quality of writing is of primary importance.（B） Common humanity is central to news reporting.（C） Moral awareness matters in editing a newspaper.（D）Journalists need stricter industrial regulations.15 All around the world, lawyers generate more hostility than the members of any other professionwit
40、h the possible exception of journalism. But there are few places where clients have more grounds for complaint than America.During the decade before the economic crisis, spending on legal services in America grew twice as fast as inflation. The best lawyers made skyscrapers-full of money, tempting e
41、ver more students to pile into law schools. But most law graduates never get a big-firm job. Many of them instead become the kind of nuisance-lawsuit filer that makes the tort system a costly nightmare.There are many reasons for this. One is the excessive costs of a legal education. There is just on
42、e path for a lawyer in most American states: a four-year undergraduate degree in some unrelated subject, then a three-year law degree at one of 200 law schools authorized by the American Bar Association and an expensive preparation for the bar exam. This leaves todays average law-school graduate wit
43、h $ 100, 000 of debt on top of undergraduate debts. Law-school debt means that they have to work fearsomely hard.Reforming the system would help both lawyers and their customers. Sensible ideas have been around for a long time, but the state-level bodies that govern the profession have been too cons
44、ervative to implement them. One idea is to allow people to study law as an undergraduate degree. Another is to let students sit for the bar after only two years of law school. If the bar exam is truly a stern enough test for a would-be lawyer, those who can sit it earlier should be allowed to do so.
45、 Students who do not need the extra training could cut their debt mountain by a third.The other reason why costs are so high is the restrictive guild-like ownership structure of the business. Except in the District of Columbia, non-lawyers may not own any share of a law firm. This keeps fees high an
46、d innovation slow. There is pressure for change from within the profession, but opponents of change among the regulators insist that keeping outsiders out of a law firm isolates lawyers from the pressure to make money rather than serve clients ethically.In fact, allowing non-lawyers to own shares in
47、 law firms would reduce costs and improve services to customers, by encouraging law firms to use technology and to employ professional managers to focus on improving firms efficiency. After all, other countries, such as Australia and Britain, have started liberalizing their legal professions. Americ
48、a should follow.16 A lot of students take up law as their profession due to（A）the growing demand from clients.（B） the increasing pressure of inflation.（C） the prospect of working in big firms.（D）the attraction of financial rewards.17 Which of the following adds to the costs of legal education in mos
49、t American states?（A）Higher tuition fees for undergraduate studies.（B） Admissions approval from the bar association.（C） Pursuing a bachelor s degree in another major.（D）Receiving training by professional associations.18 Hindrance to the reform of the legal system originates from（A）lawyers and clients strong resistance.（B） the rigid bodies governing the profession.（C） the stern exam for would-be lawyers.（D）non-professionals sharp criticism.19 The guild-like ownership structure is considered “restrictive“ partly because it（A）bans outsiders involvem
